


From the Ice

by annalulz



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Jötunheimr | Jotunheim, Light Angst, Loki meets his Jotnar family, M/M, Mutual Pining, Thanos Dies (Marvel), The nuke kills Thanos and his army, The rest of the Avengers have more like a cameo here, avengers team as family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26246755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalulz/pseuds/annalulz
Summary: Tony knows he should listen when he's told not to touch volatile things, but if the results get him Loki, he'll take his chances.
Relationships: Loki & Avengers Team, Loki & Thor (Marvel), Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 65
Collections: FrostIron Discord 2020 Summer Exchange





	From the Ice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Arabesqueangel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arabesqueangel/gifts).



> I'm sorry it took so long to post it! Life has been crazy (crazier than is usual these days) this past week. I've tried to include as much of your prompts as I could. I hope you like this!
> 
> Thanks to the FI sever for hosting this and giving me the chance to explore this fandom in my first official attempt at a FrostIron fic, or MCU in general.
> 
> Enjoy!

Tony likes Loki.

It's something he's come to accept in the years that the Trickster God started living in the Tower.

The guy is _fun_ —when he’s not aiming his mischief at _Tony_ —, and these days he mostly just annoys Fury and Steve. Like when he made everyone at SHIELD say everything in song after a two-day musical marathon. Or when he put a spell on Steve’s shield that mimicked the spell on Mjolnir and only when Steve had apologized to Loki for breaking his nose with said shield had Loki lifted the spell. Not that the injury was permanent, Loki healed himself in a matter of minutes, but it was the principle of the thing, according to him.

Tony is never going to forget the time Fury called him at three in the morning to berate him for messing with their internal comm system to blast late 90s pop songs at full volume. Tony ended up laughing for ten minutes straight when he heard “Oops I did it again” quite loudly even through the phone, and wiping mirthful tears off his face, Tony told Fury it hadn’t been him, but whoever it was, was awesome.

Later, he found out Loki had done it. He apparently had felt the agency needed some cheer to counter the doom and gloom feel surrounding it.

Point being, Tony _likes_ Loki. He enjoys the trickster’s company, quick wit, and brilliant mind. He, Loki and Bruce had lost countless hours in the lab, studying Loki’s magic, analyzing every energy spike, every ripple of reality, every change Loki brought forth with just a wave of his hand. Loki found Earth tech “primitive”—and wasn’t that an offense to Tony’s futurist sensibilities—but he was willing to help Tony and Bruce learn and study his seidr, and even help them integrate that magic with Tony’s tech.

But as much as he loves Loki and his company, being stuck for two weeks to the God’s side, with no way of stepping more than five feet away from him, has Tony starting to lose his mind.

Truthfully, it had been his fault. He should have listened to Loki when he told him to “not touch that crystal, Anthony, it’s unstable.”, but his scientific brain felt the need to poke at it with an electrical screwdriver of all things because, lab safety who?, and now he and Loki were magically handcuffed to each other.

It was funny the first day, he even laughed along with Clint once the archer found out they were stuck together—though Loki did not find it amusing at all. Tony was sure back then that with a few more hours in the lab, maybe some input here and there from Bruce, they’d be back to not being stuck together as normal.

He should know by now that he has _shit_ luck.

Clint continues to find it hilarious, that neither of them can even go to the bathroom without the other, and not even the constant knives thrown at his head that he dodges with a loud cackle deter him from making fun of Tony and Loki. Even Steve has started to glare at him for his callousness.

Thor has blind faith in his brother, and just _knows_ that Loki will be able to fix it, even if he had hovered like a worried mother over Loki for three days after the accident. It had taken Loki snarling at him to go away that Thor had stopped hovering. But not worrying. Whenever the two of them walked into the common areas of the Tower and Thor happened to be present, he would frown at them with worry and fret around, bringing Loki food and pillows and blankets and whatever else the trickster needed.

Tony thought it was sweet, in an overbearing manner.

Ever since Loki had told the truth behind his attack on Earth, Thor had been nothing but the most overprotective brother. According to Thor, Odin had been rather lenient with Loki’s “punishment” for his actions on Earth, and whatever else had happened before that—neither Loki nor Thor were very forthcoming about it, which led the rest of the team to wildly guess about what could have happened; they only knew it was _bad_ —, and sending Loki to do the Asgardian equivalent to community service was pretty much a slap on the wrist. The first few weeks of Thor coming back to Earth, Loki in tow, all the Avengers, SHIELD and the WSC were wary of Loki being back in their midst, to put it lightly.

Thor had assured them that Loki had not meant to attack, and the one truly responsible was dead. Killed, in fact, by the nuclear missile Tony had thrown into space, and while that knowledge gave them all some semblance of peace, no one really wanted to deal with the God of Chaos. Thor had also assured them that Odin would send scouts to make sure that Thanos, the Mad Titan behind the attack was truly gone, and it all had been but confirmed when two of his “daughters”, Nebula and Gamora, had confirmed the death of their “father” to the warriors sent to scout the Galaxy. According to the alien women, a large part of Thanos’s force had perished with the nuke, including the Titan himself, and they had been lucky to escape since he had sent them on a mission a few days before. His most loyal followers, the Black Order, had all been on that ship, and the only few survivors out there were foot soldiers that meant no real trouble. With that knowledge in their minds, the Avengers were free to worry only about the villains that cropped up here and there on Earth.

Part of Loki’s penance was to aid the Avengers in their missions, and his magic had turned out to be a great asset. It also helped that Loki fighting by their side put Thor in an incredibly good mood, not that Loki cared about it.

Thor is less than happy now, what with both Tony and Loki benched while they’re stuck together, and Tony has been getting a lot of glares from the Thunder God since the accident.

“Does he think I’m going to steal your virtue or something?” Tony gripes at Loki after the tenth glare he’s gotten from Thor in less than fifteen minutes, as they sit and watch the others train in the gym. Loki only rolls his eyes in response. They both smirk two seconds later when Steve kicks Thor in the gut while he is distracted.

“I have contacted my mother about our predicament,” Loki says softly, as Steve profusely apologizes to Thor in the background. Tony perks up at this, but Loki’s expression dashes his hopes in an instant. “She says she’s never seen a spell such as this be so permanent, and while she hasn’t given much hope, she’s assured me she will consult with her acquaintances in Alfheim and Vanaheim to find a solution.”

“But you don’t think she’ll find much,” Tony concludes. Loki’s entire body language screams defeat and Tony can’t bear it.

It’s not like he hates being close to Loki. Aside from Bruce, Loki has been the closest friend he’s found in the Avengers. But it’s exactly the fact that he perhaps, maybe, be a little bit in love with Loki that puts him on edge. Because Loki doesn’t feel the same way. He knows Loki likes him as a friend. He tolerates better than most his science rambles and Tony adores that about Loki. But the sorcerer just doesn’t feel the same way.

“No, I don’t think she’ll find much,” Loki answers, breaking him out of his slightly maudlin reverie. “After all, most of those contacts of my mother were my instructors after she couldn’t teach me anymore.”

“Great.”

“I understand our situation is less than ideal,” Loki says in a detached sort of way. His tone makes Tony frown. “I suppose you miss spending time with Lady Pepper, but I assure you Anthony, we will find a way to reverse this.”

Tony isn’t sure how to reply to that. His relationship with Pepper hadn’t lasted more than a few months after the Battle of New York. The stress of seeing Tony putting himself in danger constantly was too much for Pepper. They were still good friends, what with her running his company, but they hadn’t been in the same room for more than thirty minutes, and mostly just to talk about SI.

“You won’t hear me complain about your company, Rudolph,” Tony answers in a light tone, to diffuse the suddenly awkward feeling between them. “You’re pretty awesome, and Pepper only comes to see me when she needs me to sign something…”

“But?”

“But I don’t think it’s very comfortable for you to be tied up to me like this.” Tony tries to hold back his wistful tone but he’s not very successful. “I’m sure you’d rather be free to wreak havoc on SHIELD.”

Loki looks at him with a slight frown, but before he can start asking questions that will surely put Tony on the spot, he changes topics.

“You said there were Nine Realms, right?”

Loki nods slowly.

“Yes.”

“Well, not counting Asgard and Earth, because neither have answers and Alfheim and Vanaheim, because all the wizards there—”

“Sorcerers.”

“What?”

“The term is ‘sorcerers’ or ‘mages’, not wizards.”

“What’s the difference? No, wait, don’t distract me, I’m getting somewhere here!”

Loki rolls his eyes, though a small smile tugs at his lips, and Tony smiles back at him.

“Do go on, Anthony.”

“Well, you’re thinking asking the _sorcerers_ of Alfheim and Vanaheim will be a bust because they were all your teachers and you’re much better than them at this magic business.”

“I’ve never claimed to be better than my mentors.”

“No, but your tone implies it. Also ‘most powerful sorcerer in the Nine’, does that ring a bell?” Tony smirks at Loki when the God turns slightly pink.

“What is your point, Tin Man?”

“Well, there’s Nine Realms, but we’ve only looked in _four_.”

“Svartalfheim is a barren land, and while the dwarves of Nidavellir know how to allow their weapons to be imbued with seidr, they cannot wield it themselves. And unless you fancy dying Niflheim and, most importantly, Hel, are out of the question.”

“Hel is part of Niflheim, right?”

“Yes.”

“That still leaves two Realms,” Tony presses. Loki’s expression sours and he looks away.

“Muspelheim and Jotunheim are lands of elemental giants,” Loki replies in a hard tone. “Unless you want to either die burned to a crisp or frozen, neither will bear solutions.”

“Oh.” Tony deflates at Loki’s answer. “So there’s really no way?”

“Not yet,” Loki says, some of his arrogant demeanor coming back. “You said it yourself, I’m the most powerful sorcerer in the Nine. I’ll figure it out.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Loki doesn’t figure it out.

His mother sends a message two days after their conversation in the gym, saying no one in either Realm has any idea what to do, but there are rumors of something that could work in Jotunheim.

The only problem is, Loki refuses to set a foot in Jotunheim.

_But why?_ has been a constant out Tony’s mouth for three hours, as he tries to convince Loki that _maybe_ taking a little look into Jotunheim was worth a few frozen fingers, but Loki adamantly refuses to even consider it.

“Lokes, come on,” Tony pleads with the God as he follows him around the lab as he paces through it. “It’s worth a shot. Please.”

“No, Anthony. I will not go to Jotunheim.”

“ _But why?_ ” Tony asks for the millionth time, it feels, starting to get tired of the two words.

Loki stops in his pacing and whirls around to look at Tony with a cold, furious glare that makes Tony take a few steps back until he’s being pulled back towards Loki by the magical bond between them.

“ _Because_ ,” Loki says, his voice flat and hard. “I _killed_ their King and tried to destroy their planet with the Bifrost. Forgive me for not wanting to be executed on sight.”

“Loki…”

“You’ve all wanted to know what made me end up in the hands of Thanos all this time, haven’t you?” Loki sneers at him, and Tony is frozen to the floor. “Let me tell you, then. I found out I was adopted, _from that race of monsters,_ abandoned and left to die because I wasn’t good enough even for a monster. 

“I found out my entire life was a lie. I’m no Odinson, I’m not even Aesir; and when I tried to prove I could be good enough, I failed again. So I chose to fall into the Void, whether I lived or died didn’t matter, I only wanted to be away from the _lies_ . And then the Mad Titan found me, and after receiving his _hospitality_ , I came to Midgard to subjugate this planet. The rest, as you Midgardians say, is history.”

Tony knows he's pushed Loki too far when he sees the angry tears pooling in his eyes. He wants to comfort him but he doesn't know how, or if it will be even welcomed. He nods in acceptance, knowing there could be worse things than being magically tied to Loki, even if it can get inconvenient at times.

“I'm sorry, Lokes,” he manages to say in a small voice.

Loki stands in front of him, his back to him, straight and tense.

“I understand your desire of ending this spell, Anthony,” Loki says, without looking at him, his voice distant. “And I did promise I would find a way to do so.”

“Yeah, but—”

“I must prepare, then,” Loki continues, as if Tony hadn’t spoken. “If we are to journey to Jotunheim.”

“Wait, Loki, we don’t have to—”

“It is our last hope, is it not?”

“Yeah, I guess, but—”

“Then we shall go,” Loki says with finality. “I will speak with Thor, so he can let the Allfather know of our trip and then we can depart. I suggest bringing as many warm clothes as you can.”

Loki walks out of the lab, then, not bothering to look back as he practically drags Tony after him, the magical bond pulling him after Loki.

The next couple of hours are a whirlwind of Loki dragging Tony all over the Tower; first to Tony’s room so he can pack warm clothes and an extra Iron Man suit, made specifically to withstand freezing temperatures (Tony had imagined a trip to one of the Earth poles for it, not a whole different planet). Then, they move on to Loki’s room on the floor he shares with Thor, where he does a cursory swipe through his things, picks a thing or two, and vanishes them all, along with Tony’s own luggage, into his pocket dimension.

Thor notices them going around the Tower and stops Loki in the common room.

“What has you so agitated, brother?” Thor asks, his ever present frown deepening.

“Ah, Thor,” Loki says as he stops to speak with his brother. Tony walks into him, hitting his forehead on Loki’s shoulder. The God barely glances at him as he rubs the sore spot. “I need you to relay a message to the Allfather. Anthony and I are heading to Jotunheim.”

“What?” Thor exclaims, turning white as a sheet and looking at them both in horror. “Brother, no! You cannot go there!”

“Mother has heard there might be a chance of undoing the spell there,” Loki answers. “We must look there if we wish to be rid of it.”

“But, Loki…” Thor pleads with big, blue eyes.

Knowing now what had happened to Loki before New York, before even Thanos, Tony can understand Thor’s fear for his little brother.

“I’ve tried telling him we don’t have to, but he won’t listen to me,” Tony says. Both brothers turn to glare at him.

“Weren’t you the one insisting over and over that we should exhaust every possibility before giving up?” Loki says, coldly. Thor’s anger seems to intensify, if he judges the thunder rolling outside correctly, not to mention the tiny lighting bolts jumping over his skin.

Tony glances in slight panic at the Thunder God before replying, “Well, yeah. I mean, It can’t be fun for you to be tied up to me for so long, so—” He shrugs. “I thought you’d probably want to be free of me as soon as possible.”

Loki’s cold expression suddenly melts into surprise, but Thor speaks before he can try to say anything.

“As well as he should, Man of Iron. This was your doing.”

Tony flinches at Thor’s words, but he doesn’t refute it, knowing Thor is right to worry about his brother. Loki, however, doesn’t agree. 

“There is no point in laying blame now. It has happened and we must deal with it.” Loki takes a deep breath and turns to Tony. “We will head to Jotunheim as soon as Thor confirms he has relayed the message to Odin.” At this, he turns to Thor with a meaningful look, but the Thunderer shakes his head.

“I will not let you go there alone, Loki.”

“I won’t be alone. Anthony will be there as well.”

“And you wouldn’t have to go there in the first place if it wasn’t for him!”

“Enough, Thor! This isn’t the time—”

“He’s right, though,” Tony interrupts Loki before he can berate Thor. Loki frowns at him. “I should have listened to you when you told me not to mess with that crystal. I just want to fix this so you can go back to your life.”

“Anthony…”

Thor lets out a deep breath and a determined look settles on his face.

“I will go with you. No,” he adds when Loki starts to protest. “You cannot complain about this, brother. Heimdall can just as well relay the message to Father, and I will feel better knowing I’m there to watch your back.”

“As if I need you to babysit me!” Loki sneers.

“It is for my peace of mind, brother, and I will not take no for an answer,” Thor says, resolutely. “You will wait for me here while I get ready, or Norns help me, I will tie you down with Mjolnir until I return from my chambers.”

Satisfied with his warning/threat, Thor leaves for his room, leaving Tony and Loki standing awkwardly in the middle of the common floor’s living room.

“I’m sorry, Loki,” Tony says, clearing his throat. “I should have listened to you.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Loki says, still tense from his discussion with Thor. “I shouldn’t have left that crystal unattended knowing it was potentially dangerous.”

“Still—”

“What’s done is done, Anthony. We can only work to undo it.”

Tony falls silent at this and neither of them speaks again until Thor returns, dressed in his full battle armor and a thick cape, lined with fur, draped around his shoulders.

“Hm. I am not sure it’s wise to present yourself in front of the Jotnar dressed for battle,” Loki comments, but he doesn’t refuse Thor coming with them again.

“One must always be prepared for battle,” Thor replies seriously, his grip on Mjolnir tightening. “I have told Heimdall of our journey, and he will relay the message to Father.”

“Let us hope Odin doesn’t decide to banish you for going to Jotunheim, _again_ ,” Loki says to him in a teasing voice.

“He will understand,” Thor replies, with a small smile.

Tony feels there’s a story behind that but he prefers not to ask, lest he makes Thor spark up again. Instead, he turns to the closest sensor and speaks to JARVIS.

“J, let everyone know where we’re going, and reschedule any meetings I have until my return.”

“And what should I say if someone asks for the date of your return, sir?” JARVIS asks.

“Just say I’m on a no-contact, two-week holiday,” Tony answers. “That should give us plenty of time. I hope.”

“Very well, sir,” JARVIS says, and then pauses, as if hesitating. “And may I say, good luck on your endeavor.”

“Thanks, buddy. I feel we’re gonna need it.”


End file.
